I’m pretty sure when people say eat the rainbow, they mean eat this this Thai chicken salad! This chicken salad recipe is super easy to make and so full of color and textures. You will love how fast it comes together, too. You just need some leftover chicken and fresh produce, and we’ll teach you how to make the best “peanut” sauce for the dressing. It’s all Paleo + Whole30 friendly, too!
How to make chopped Thai chicken salad
Well, it’s really easy. It is a little labor intensive to chop up all the veggies and mango, but once that’s done it’s really just putting it all together.
Below is a breakdown of how this Thai chicken salad recipe comes together. And here are some other healthy comfort food recipes you might like as well!
- Prep produce – Chop up the cabbage (or buy pre-shredded), cilantro, bell pepper and cucumber. Shred the carrot on a grater.
- Cube your mango. Here’s a twenty second video tutorial with an easy way to do it.
- Chop some cashews.
- Cube or shred some leftover chicken.
- Make the “peanut” sauce dressing.
- Put it all in a large serving bowl and toss.
this recipe
Paleo + Whole30 “peanut” dressing for Thai chicken salad
You’d expect a Thai chicken salad recipe to have a peanut sauce for the dressing, but peanuts aren’t Paleo or Whole30 friendly since they’re a legume, so we’ve made a compliant version for this chopped Thai chicken salad. It’s easy to mix up and has all the “peanut” flavor. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Creamy cashew butter
- Sesame oil
- Coconut aminos
- Rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar will work too)
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic
- Water
- Sea Salt
You just mix it all up in a jar or bowl. You can either toss it with all the ingredients or you can keep it on the side and just put however much you want on each serving of the salad. This is a great idea if you’re making this salad for meal prep. Then, all the veggies retain their crunch. If you have any leftovers, go ahead and put it on all the things!
Leftover chicken salad recipe
We love this Thai chicken salad recipe because it uses leftover chicken. You can shred it, cube it or cut your chicken into thin strips. Rotisserie chicken would work well, too. However you prefer it and in whatever form is easiest for you will be great! The idea here is simply that you are using up what’s in your fridge and making a tasty meal with it.
Some other Asian inspired recipes
- SPICY PORK BOWLS
- HEALTHY SWEET POTATO CHICKEN PAD THAI RECIPE
- KOREAN BEEF BOWL
- HEALTHY SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
- KOREAN BEEF BULGOGI
- HEALTHY CASHEW CHICKEN
Time to give this easy Thai chicken salad a try!
If you’ve got some leftover chicken in the fridge, go ahead and use it up by making this easy Thai chicken salad recipe! You’ll love the “peanut” sauce and crunchy chopped salad. Leave a comment and rating below to let us know how it goes. Also, take a pic to share on Instagram, and tag us @realsimplegood so we can check it out! We love to see what you’re cooking!
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4.93 from 14 ratings
Get the Recipe:
Easy Thai Chicken Salad
Prep: 25 minutes mins
Total: 25 minutes mins
Servings: 6
When people say eat the rainbow, they mean eat this Paleo + Whole30 Thai chicken salad! You need leftover chicken, produce and the best "peanut" sauce!
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Ingredients
For the salad:
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 6 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup cashews, chopped
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cucumber, diced, (one small or half of a larger one)
- 1 mango, cubed
- 1 lime, juice
- 1/4 tsp Sea salt
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup creamy cashew butter
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, (or rice vinegar)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- water, to thin, (add 1 tbsp at a time until it reaches your desired consistency – we used about 2 tbsp)
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Prep all of the salad ingredients as noted, and place in a large bowl and toss.
Prep ginger and garlic as noted and make sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.
Pour the sauce over the salad and toss again. Serve and enjoy!
Last Step:
Please leave a star rating and comment to let us know how you liked this recipe! Your ratings and reviews help our business grow, so we can continue to provide free healthy and delicious recipes for you.
Course: Main Course, Salad
Author: Erica Winn
Cuisine: Asian, Thai
Did you make this recipe?Tag @realsimplegood with hashtag #realsimplegood on Instagram. We love to see what you make!
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Chicken Entrées Healthy Comfort Food Meal Prep Quick + Easy Salads
posted by Erica Winn on August 27, 2020 (last updated Apr 12, 2022)
14 comments Leave a comment »
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14 comments on “Easy Thai-Inspired Chicken Salad”
Leave a comment »
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Natalia Toledo — Reply
Wow this is so easy and yummy!!!! I had to sub out some veggies that I didn’t have in hand but was still delicious. My husband, who doesn’t love salad for dinner, requested we add this to our weekly rotation of meals !
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Justin Winn — Reply
Happy to hear you both liked the recipe! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🙂
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Debi Owinyo — Reply
My taste buds reminded me that I had made this a few months ago, after all. This time I used peanut butter for the dressing and added a little fresh pineapple juice and included some of the pineapple with the salad. So delicious and crunchy!
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Justin Winn — Reply
Sounds delicious, thanks for coming back to leave a comment and rating 🙂
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jade — Reply
Hi,where do I find the calories for your recipes?
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Justin Winn — Reply
Hi there, we don’t track the nutritional info on all of our recipes. We’ve found since moving to a real food lifestyle that we don’t have to track and it’s liberating to not be tied to numbers. If you needed the info you could use an online calculator like My Fitness Pal.
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Wendy — Reply
Really delicious! I used Napa Cabbage and tossed the cilantro with the cabbage. It was such a pretty salad. AND THE DRESSING! I am going to use this dressing on other things…pork, grilled veggies maybe or even as a marinade if I thin it out. Supper yummy, I used almond butter because that’s what I had and added a shake or two of cayenne for a bit of heat. Definitely making again!
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Erica Winn — Reply
Love hearing that you enjoyed this recipe so much! It’s a favorite or ours, too! Thanks for giving it a try and also for returning to leave a rating and review. We really appreciate hearing from you! 🙂
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Jesse Adams — Reply
Delicious, not too complicated & visually stunning
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Justin Winn — Reply
Thanks for coming back to leave a review Jesse, we really appreciate it 🙂
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Anonymous — Reply
This dressing lit up every taste bud! I added a touch of honey for more of a satay sauce style. It’s good enough to eat alone as a snack!
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Erica Winn — Reply
Amazing! We’re so glad you liked it, and I bet that honey was a great add! Thanks for giving our recipe a try! 🙂
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Kelcie Harris — Reply
Delicious and very easy to make!
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Erica Winn — Reply
Thanks so much, Kelcie! And thanks for sharing in IG, too! It’s great to connect with you.
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